Commanders Learned That They Need a Defense | Nick Ashooh and Steve Czaban

8 comments

1. You definitely could have done something about it cause we took Forbes before Gonzalez. You have it mixed up

2. Max Crosby trade would ruin this time for the next 3 to 4 years. Hes 29 going on 30. How is that getting younger

3. Why do people think it will take multiple 1st round picks for Crosby?

   DAL got 2 1st & Kenny Clark for Parsons.. the 2 1st are pick 20 and likely later in 2027.. both of the 1st that GB gave up, add up to the #7 pick!

   #7, Payne, Sainristil to LV for Crosby, pick 34

4. I believe AP is most definitely going to focus on getting younger and faster this offseason… below are the guys who I think he will eventually sign and then I’ll provide a rough estimate of what the options will be for the 53 man roster…
   It’s kind of hard to fully predict which players they’ll target on defense because we don’t have a DC yet, however, most of these guys will fit in any scheme.

   Right now the projected cap space varies depending on the source… it looks to be between 80-90 million (the cap goes up each year but how much will it this year?). There is 1 obvious cut, Lattimore, which free’s up an additional 18.5m, with no dead cap hit.. so it’s looking like AP will have about 110-120m in available cap space. People being up the fact that the number is misleading, because of the amount of impending free agents we have, however, the amount of impending free agents is inflated, because of all of the injuries this past season (and the guys who were signed to 1 year deals, to fill in for the injured guys)…

   Tunsil is going to get extended, so that could potentially ADD cap space as well..

   Payne will not be back on this team, on his current contact.. so will he be restructured, cut or traded? (post 6/1 designation saves 22m with a dead cap hit of 5.5m)..
   We all know that Edge rusher is a massive need for this team, so AP is more than likely going to spend big there, how much cap space can be relegated to the defensive line ??

   I am also going to put what I think each contract could look like (just in years & total money… obviously the amount of guarantee and other stuff, will determine the actual cap hit). For example, Kinlaw signed a 3 year / 45m dollar contract this offseason (15m per year.. however his 2025 cap hit was 5m dollars). Terry signed for 3 years / 97m ( 32.3m per year ).. however his cap hit in 2026, when the deal officially starts, is 18m.. the contracts are just rough estimates, it’s impossible for anyone to guess the exact deals that guys will get.

   Offense: * = re-sign
   RB – Breece Hall (4 year / 54m), *CRod is a restricted free agent, so he will be back

   TE – TJ Hockenson (1 year / 6m)

   WR – Wan’dale Robinson (4 year, 64m), Dyami Brown (1 year / 2m), *Treylon Burks (2 year / 8m)

   OL – *Chris Paul (2 year / 10m), Trent Scott (vet minimum), Andrew Wylie (1 year / 3m)… bring back Niang for camp… draft a center in round 5 or 6

   QB – * Marcus Mariota ( 1 year / 8m)

   ~ notes about the O:
   QB – Mariota could follow Kliff, or possibly get a chance to start somewhere else… if he leaves, comment below who you’d like for them to sign as QB2 ( Fields? Trubisky? Skylar Thompson? Zack Wilson?… whoever it is, will be cheaper than Mariota)

   OL – Chris Paul might not fit the new system… so a new starter could be brought in for LG.. or Coleman could start & then we would need a swing T.. comment below any suggestions)

   WR – Robinson is the starting slot… Dyami comes back & hopes to rekindle his chemistry with Jayden.. Burks / Dyami / Luke all compete for the outside spot opposite of Terry.

   Defense: * = re-sign

   DL – Odafe Oweh (4 year / 68m), A.J. Epenesa (2 years / 12m), *Deatrich Wise (1 year / 3m), *Jacob Martin (2 year / 8m), *Drake Jackson (? Idk his possible contract but it’ll be cheap)
   *Eddie Goldman
   LB – Devin Bush (3 year / 30m)

   CB – Eric Stokes (3 year / 36m),
   Noah Igbinoghene ( 1 year / 2m)

   S – Geno Stone ( 1 year / 2.5m)

   ~ notes for D:
   LB – Bush is still young and brings speed to the middle

   CB – Woolen is a possibility, especially if Karl Scott is hired as DC, however I went with Stokes, who had a good year & not near as good as a pass rush as Woolen had in front of him.

   DL – Oweh likely doesn’t re-sign with LAC bc he didn’t play ‘full time’ since joining them.. he will be looking for a starting role. Goldman comes back as a run stopper, or sign a young FA like Ridgeway (again)

   S – Stone has played on a BAD defense & struggled, I believe he can revert back to his BAL days. He takes the ball away… 3rd safety

   TRADES:

   Daron Payne to the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2026 4th round pick – #117 …
   LV has 3, 4th round picks, so they trade 1 of them for Payne (they then extend him to lower his cap hit). They have close to 100m in cap space & need to get Crosby some help.

   Quan Martin, Nick Allegretti, 2026 6th to JAC for Maason Smith, 2026 4th

   Quan & Smith are both former 2nd round picks.. Quan has shown more potential than Smith so far. Both could use a change of scenery. JAC is low on cap soace and could use a safety and need multiple pieces on the OLine. With the lack of cap space, JAC wants to keep all of their picks, so it’s just a pick swap while adding 2 veterans at positions of need.

   DRAFT PICKS:
   # 7 – S Caleb Downs
   #71 – DT Lee Hunter / Darrell Jackson Jr.
   Round 4 (LV) – OC Matt Gulbin
   Round 4 (JAC)- ED Malachi Lawrence
   Round 5 – OT Kage Casey
   Round 6 – CB Andre Fuller
   Round 7 – QB Jack Strand

   53 Man Roster Options (obviously a couple UDFAs & a few other vets will come to camp)

   QB – JD5, Mariota, Strand, Hartman
   RB – Hall, Bill, CRod, ? .. likely bring in a cheap vet, maybe McNichols, and a UDFA
   TE – Hockenson, Bates, Sinnott, Yankoff, Lawrence Cager,
   WR – Terry, Robinson, Burks, Dyami, Luke, Lane, Jacoby Jones, Ja’Corey Brooks, Nick Nash
   OL – Tunsil, Coleman, Biadasz, Cosmi, JCJ, Wylie, Scott, Casey, Niang, Paul (maybe), McKay, Aumavae-Laulu

   DL – Oweh, Armstrong, Epenesa, Wise, Martin, Lawrence, Jackson, Johnson, Maguranyanga, Carter ll…Kinlaw, Newton, Smith, Hunter, Goldman, Barber

   LB – Bush, Luvu, Magee, Medrano, Kaho, Bellore.. likely bring a vet to camp as well like Riley last year

   CB – Stokes, Amos, Sainristil, Igbinoghene, Fuller, Hawkins, Rush, Vigers

   S – Downs, Harris, Stone, Reaves, Owens, Butler, McDaniel

5. Im sorry man, but our defense was NOT NEARLY as bad as you media people claim them to be, hear me out.

   What defense would look good when they’re back on the field after 3-4 minutes because the offense gets a 3& out so very often. and even if they move the ball a little bit and then have to punt, not much time went by because the commanders OFFENSE set a record for most plays ran in the hurry up and did NOT manage the clock well in that regard. The offense not having ANY weapons is our LARGEST ISSUE. We can get Hendrickson and or another pass rusher and draft one later in the draft, but we need Jeremiah Love or a WIdeout. Without question. I would even TRY to trade back without appearing desperate, and potentially getting a 2nd rd pick where you can draft an Edge IE Cassius Howell or a number of guys in that early rd 2 area. But there are not the same playmakers in round 2 of the same ILK as in Round 1.

6. God this is dumb. Trading multiple firsts would cripple this franchise.

7. A corner, a safety, a middle linebacker and at least two linemen. You need aggressive, fast young guys. Ideally 5 or 6 new starters on defense. Free agents signings should be no more than 27 or 28 years old. New England used 5 key defensive free agent signings to help rebuild their defense in one season. We've got to get the right DC and then involve him in evaluating who to draft and bring in. AP has to do a better job with personnel.

8. Many said similar things about Darrell Green.